Jefferson via Jewell - Jonatha's 48th!

[Tim Seaver]

Jonatha and Jefferson

The short window of stellar weather today was just the ticket for Jonatha to complete her Winter NH48 atop Mount Jefferson, surely one of the finest peaks to finish the winter list by.

Light winds, sun, and temps in the teens made for a very pleasant trip up the Jewell Trail, which sported a few inches of fine powder over an occasionally icy base. (We wore snowshoes to treeline, and crampons on the way down without post-holing) The upper part of the trail below the Gulfside junction is an unpleasant mix of loose powdery drifts and jagged rocks, but the Gulfside was much nicer, with some nice hard snowfields for cramponing on the way down to Sphinx Col.

Immense wind-hardened drifts, small snowfields, and more of the powder/rock combo led to Monticello Lawn and the summit, where trumpets played and banners unfurled. Ok, maybe there were no trumpets, but...

Banners? We got banners!

More pictures

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Congrats, Jonatha. Looks like a stellar day all the way around.

Now, if I hike next winter with you, we can do any old peaks we want!

 

[evilhanz]

Way to go! What a gorgeous day.

 

[Jonatha]

There were trumpets....I heard them!! Thanks for the wonderful photos Tim - it was the perfect day to finish on!

 

[Maddy]

Beautiful pics.
Congratulations! You did GOOD!!!

 

[Ashfordite]

Congratulations! It looks like an excellent finish!

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Congrats, Jonatha! You certainly caught a beautiful day above treeline to finish on one the finest peaks.

 

[forestgnome]

Looks so sunny and mild! Very nice TR. Thanks for sharing images.

happy trails